It was a beautiful day for a ball game. The sun was shining, the
temperature was gently rising into the mid 60's and the Cincinnati
Reds were in town for their first game of the season at Dodger Stadium.
Orel Hershiser was on the mound, holding the Reds to one run. Johanna
McCloy and live-in love John Street were in the stands cheering
the Dodgers on to what seemed like certain victory.

Winning is good for the appetite and at the top of the sixth inning,
McCloy and Street headed out to the concourse in search of something
to eat. Wending their way through the crowd, they turned first toward
the Stadium Club where they had bought vegetarian food in seasons
past. The Club was gone, replaced by VIP Suites. Undaunted, they
started down the line of concession stands. Ham, ribs, burgers,
one concession after another served only selections with meat. Seven
outs later, they returned to their seats with nothing but peanuts.

The Dodgers racked up an 8-1 win, but the day was a loss for Johanna
and John. Baseball is a game of traditions and they wanted the classic
ballpark experience, hot dog and all. The more Johanna thought about
it, the more it bothered her.

"There are a lot of baseball fans who don't eat meat for a variety
of reasons and they should be able to partake in a dog at the ballgame
along with everybody else."

An activist by nature, Johanna decided to find out what vegetarian
foods other ballparks offered. She contacted each of the major league
clubs and their concessions managers. The answers ranged from the
truly depressing (Florida Marlins, where the vegetarian options
consist of pretzels and ice cream) to the Oh-My-Gosh-It's-a-Meal!
in Anaheim, where the Angels serve up a vegetarian focaccia sandwich,
mac&cheese, yogurt, garden salad, a veggie wrap, peanut butter and
jelly sandwiches, a veggie bowl, and baked potatoes.

What she really wants, though, is for every ballpark to make veggie
dogs available. Not in special "health food" sections, not in a
remote corner under the stands, but right there with the other hot
dogs where patrons can see them and try them and have the classic
ballpark experience in a way that's much healthier for them (not
to mention the animals!). And she hasn't given up. Johanna's staying
in touch with the teams and their concessions people. She's lobbying
for veggie dogs with every phone call, every letter, every email.
And you can help.

Says Johanna, "Let your baseball teams know that you want veggie
dogs at their games. Send emails. Write letters. Call them. Ask
for the concessions manager. And spread the word. The more voices
they hear, the greater the likelihood that this will happen."